Jack Doohan impressed Alpine in one area that led to him getting an F1 seat over Franco Colapinto

Jack Doohan will make his Formula 1 debut at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ahead of schedule for the Alpine team at the final round of the season.

The Australian driver was originally scheduled to make his F1 debut at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix next season but was brought forward after Esteban Ocon agreed to step aside.

Ocon is moving to Haas next year and will drive for his new team in the post-season test rather than finish the year with the Alpine team.

Doohan will become the second Australian on the grid alongside McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and will get an opportunity after being promoted from his role as the team’s reserve driver.

There is fierce competition for seats in Formula 1, and multiple rookies are joining the grid for 2025 including Doohan and Andrea Kimi Antonelli who is replacing Lewis Hamilton.

The Alpine driver has been under pressure before his F1 debut as there were rumours of Franco Colapinto taking Doohan’s drive but interest seems to have now cooled.

AMuS reported that there was one key aspect in which Doohan excelled, which allowed him to race for Alpine ahead of his Argentine rival.

Jack Doohan impressed Alpine with his pace compared to Pierre Gasly in a test

Doohan has been embedded within the Alpine team since 2022, when he started racing in Formula 2 and knocking on the door of Formula 1.

His career in F2 wasn’t spectacular, as he failed to challenge for the championship after a difficult start to last season with point-less weekends in Bahrain and Azerbaijan.

He had to sit on the sidelines this year as a reserve driver, and Doohan spent a lot of time in the simulator at Enstone as he looked to develop the car for Pierre Gasly and Ocon.

READ MORE: What Daniel Ricciardo has said about Jack Doohan as Alpine debut beckons at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The Australian driver had to also watch as Colapinto was given an opportunity to impress at Williams and rumours immediately started generating about Alpine’s line-up for 2025.

Alpine’s special advisor, Flavio Briatore, found Colapinto to be a little bit too expensive, and Doohan did well in a TPC test alongside Gasly which was a good sign.

A TPC test is an outing in an older Formula 1 car, which can be a good opportunity for rookies to gather experience and be evaluated ahead of a potential F1 drive.

Jack Doohan is under immediate pressure to secure Alpine sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship

Alpine are battling for sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship and holds a slim five-point advantage over Haas with one round to go in Abu Dhabi.

This may add an extra layer of tension to the debutant’s weekend despite Doohan already having success in Abu Dhabi in F2.

Doohan will have to get up to speed quickly without a lot of private testing under his belt like other drivers such as Antonelli who joins the grid in 2025.

It will be a challenge for the Australian, but a good result may give him a confidence boost as he heads into the winter before his home Grand Prix kicks off next season.